The administration and equipment rooms of major telecommunication centers, office complexes and some residential homes typically include an electrical closet or other electrical wiring area having wiring frames that secure and organize many different cable-pair conductors. For example, Lucent Technologies manufactures a wiring block for GIGA speed-category 5 applications under the trade designation "110," which can be mounted either directly on the walls or support surfaces in electrical closets, or mounted on a 110D wiring block mounted on a frame-mount application. This wiring block allows high density applications. These wiring blocks can be about 10" or 11" in width and have a height of about 3.5". Index strips can extend across the wiring blocks and secure and organize up to 25 colored cable-pair conductors. The index strips are typically marked with different colors to help locate the color coded cable-pair conductors. The strips have pairs that are formed as male connectors that are color coded for receiving and matching different color coded cable-pair conductors in predetermined locations on the strips. A category 5 connecting block, such as the 110C connecting block from Lucent Technologies, can be formed as a three-pair, four-pair or five-pair connecting block. It is usually formed as a one-piece, fire-retardant, molded plastic housing that contains solder-plated quick clips that slice through the insulation on conductors as the connecting blocks are pushed onto the wiring block. The connecting blocks typically include attachment legs that grasp onto the male component of the wiring block.
In the past, if a connecting block was removed, then excessive force had to be applied onto the connecting block via a pair of pliers, which could damage the wires and assemblies, and the entire connection assembly. In addition, the use of excessive force restricted personnel who had motor skill/strength components.